The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-10-16

decorations, the great cost Of tho furniture,
and the general maGnifoence Of the equip
ment "Seei" they exoiaim, show this man
lie rolling In wealth on profits that should
have been distributed among his employees"
But they have not looked 10 details. The
house, with lts furniture, costs $500, 1000. On
this estimate the manufacturer will have
been fortunate II tho structure fails 10 rep
resent hIs entire profits for period OF Eve
years. Nine times out Of tan It will repre-
sent moro than his profits; but say that 1t
represents only his gains for the time stated,
and Instead Of having the money for the
NV 'iing NO will suppose Il to have been
distributed among his workmen. In ad-
dltion. then, to their regular wages Of "a q
day. this would have given them about %
tents a day extra, or sl.eo per week. The
workmen, instead " receiving SIS per week.
would have received $500 per week, the
founder OF the factory receiving nothing.
But would thoss grasping workmen have
lived materially better during the i've years,
or would they fnd themselves any rtoher at
the end
1t should be seen at once here shat there
can be no profit In industrial cooperation.
The head Of this manufacturing concern Il
man Of great experience In the market. He
has studied carefully the public wants and
the Laws Of demand and supply. while self
Interest makes him keener. moro energetic.
and more enterprtsing than any mere agent
would ever become. Indeed. the only means
through which q cooperative firm Of any
sort could market Its products against such
competitor would be found either In selecting
q manager and giving him liberal percent
age on sales. percentage that would about
equal the profits drawn by the manufacture
Ing proprietor, or In selling the products
outright to some enterprising business man,
and allowing him to handle them In the
market as they arc handled under the pre-
vaillng system. Unless we can adopt some
ironclad regulation which will prevent men
from buying and solling, the gap between the
producer and consumer can never be hlled
except by trained mercantile specialists.
Another obstacle In the way Of industrial
cooperation would be found in Its restraint.
circuinscribed In their liberty Of movement.
For the nero pleasure N having their names
enrolled in q partnership. from which
no personal proat could be drawn, they
would be bound like horses on treadmill.
For the sake OF an intinitesimal Interest in
an unproductive adventure. they would be
tied to one locality. and when they saw or
de~ired chance for improving their circum-
stances. they could move only by sacrificing
what little they had obtained. It would not
be much. but 1t would be enough to prevent
the growth Of universal system. The great
majority Of workmen would always prefer
maintaining their Independence. and coop
erative firms would. therefore. become q
means Of intensifying competition. In fact
the whole scheme Of industrial cooperation.
together with Its corollaries. cooperative dis
tributlon and consumption. would result In
an attack on the MARKET and could only lead
to reduced prices. lcss renumerative labor,
and Increased decentralization.
These are the chief obstacles In the way OF
industrial COOPERATION. There are minor
distractions, but they are not worth men
tioning when the chief distractions are suf-
ficient to show It's utter futllity as an
economic measure. The only argument
that can be advanced In its favor is sent-
mental; and 1t Is the argument through
which an attempt ia made to Justify State
socialism. We arc told that social order
that permits inequalities Of fortune is wrong
and should DO subverted. This is an argu-
ment hardly worth meeting. It Is almost
equivalent to saying that universe filled
with beings Of unequal capacity should
be annihilated. It has been said that
there Is one thing impossible for the
Omnlpotent. He cannot make two hills
without o hollow. However this may
be, 1t ia certain that we could have
no pleasant valleys were there no peaks;
and it matters not how high the mountain
tops may soar 80 long as the intervals be-
tween them can be made very delightful.
The chief task set for mon Is the removal OF
inequalities by their own personal exertion,
and until they have made themselves the
equals Of their Creator, 1t Is to be presumed
that they will 80 plodding along at this
work sometimes erect and sometimes fall
ing down, but making often as good reach
forward through their stumbles a. through
their well-regulated strides
We shall reach something approxlmating
Industrial cooperation eventually; but 1t will
lutionary purposes The true kind Of indus
trial cooperation will be q eorollary of financial
cooperation, and It must be sought through
the laws that regulate the market. AS
scheme Involving something radically new.
1t has no element OF success.
As for the idea OF CO. '-rative savings, 1t Is
to be feared that worknen will refuse to put
their money In q savings institution at the
dictation OF man on a salary Of 5000 q
year deducted from their earnings
Wanderings Of the Chinese.
The Chinese Government has recently been